Post by Roger McCready on May 25, 2022 12:40:35 GMT -5
WELCOME TO LOS EUROSIA,
ROGER WREN MCCREADY
"there's whisky in the coffee"
BASICS
NAME: Roger McCready
AGE: 31 years old
BIRTHDATE: April 29th (Taurus)
PRONOUNS: He/Him
SEXUALITY: Bisexual
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single
OCCUPATION: Clinic/Stable Owner - Owns 'Hattie's Haven', a large animal clinic/ranch on the outskirts of the city, where he sees and cares for horses, sheep, cows, goats, etc. The clinic also doubles as Roger's home and a sort of animal sanctuary — Hattie's Haven takes in any surrendered, neglected, or abused animals who need to be rehabilitated or rehomed. The ranch once belonged to his grandparents and Roger began working there after abandoning his teenage punk rebellion. As his grandparents grew older, he pretty much ran the place by himself and when they died, he inherited the Haven. He also offers services such as riding lessons and animal therapy.
NEIGHBORHOOD: None/Outskirts of Los Eurosia
MEMBER GROUP: Gifted
POWERS:Empath (Touch & Projection) - Roger can feel a person's emotions. From across the room, he can tell if a person is sad, uncertain, happy, etc. He is more aware of these feelings the closer to the person he is. If there's any skin-to-skin contact, he can actually feel these emotions just as strongly as the other person is experiencing them. He's learned to tune most of this awareness out, but the stronger a person is feeling something, the more effort it takes for him to ignore it.
He can also project feelings, which can be (involuntarily) accompanied by images. For example, Roger could instill a feeling of calm in a rampaging horse or distraught person, and the person may catch a glimpse of Roger's ex-girlfriend calming him after a nightmare (a memory he wouldn't have intended to send, but something his brain associated with calmness). There are some rare occasions where he can involuntarily catch glimpses of such memories from other people as well, through skin-to-skin contact. This has led to some uncomfortable and/or jarring situations in the past (not to mention feels terribly invasive), but it's always involuntary, doesn't happen every time, and Roger himself isn't sure what triggers it. Needless to say, he is particularly mindful about touching others.
THE LOOKS
HEIGHT: 5'10''
WEIGHT: ~150lbs
HAIR COLOR: Light brown
EYE COLOR: Brown
FACE CLAIM: Liam O'Brien
OVERALL APPEARANCE: Roger's not a particularly-striking character nor a man who stands from a crowd or demands much attention. Average in stature, he stands two inches short of six feet and weighs near 150lbs. Though his musculature is marked by a physical capability earned by years of unyielding, diligent work on the ranch and sports, the strength isn't blatantly obvious in the hard planes of his body. He's more wiry than lean... understated sturdiness in place of apparent brawn... and retains an almost-stringy appearance, despite being completely capable of holding his own.
Despite being a conscientious person in every other aspect of his life, Roger pays a wanting amount of thought and attention to his appearance. Most of the time he looks like a man fresh from sleep, with thick, short hair left in a choppy, mussed way atop his head. At the very best, the hair will be combed through to lay in some semblance of neatness, but more often than not, Roger will always look like he just rolled out of bed and doesn't own a mirror. Even after a shower, he'll simply run his fingers through his hair and let it dry whatever way it wishes. It isn't so infrequent that he'll skip a shave in the morning, either, and just pull on a questionably-clean shirt from the floor — he just has a way of always looking a bit untidy. He's got shit to do.
Roger wears two piercings in his right ear, a digital watch on his left wrist — which is always going off with some reminder or other — and is rarely seen without a cigarette between his lips.
INSIDE
LIKES:• He's a sucker for the typical, money-wasting vices, including smoking, alcohol, and a bit of gambling every now and then. There's nothing like winding down a hard day — every day — with a few beers, he blows through packs of cigarettes like no other, and has lost a good amount of money betting over the dumbest of things.
• Solid, assured people with initiative who know what they want and are moving toward it. Roger likes decisive people who work hard and know where they're going. Nothing irks him more than placid little sheep, waiting for the shepherd to show them the way and lead them around. He's the kind of guy who'll sit someone down and ask them what they want and drill them on why they're not busting their ass trying to get it. Of course, while this is his special brand of concern, Roger's mannerisms have a way of making these talks sound a bit brash ("wake the fuck up dude, what the hell are you doing standing here kid, just do it!").
• Coffee. Black, with maybe a little whisky. It's what keeps him rolling through the day. A cup of coffee in the morning... in the afternoon... at 5pm...
• Having a drink in smoke-filled bars late at night. Something about that quiet noise and sipping bourbon until the AM, it just sits right. Especially when everyone else is enjoying the atmosphere like him... maybe some karaoke in the background... maybe finding a pleasant stranger to continue a six-pack with on the walk home.
• Piano and jazz. He was forced by his parents to learn piano as a kid. And while he absolutely hated it growing up, once he was an adult and cut ties with his parents, he found he enjoyed playing.
DISLIKES:• Fake people/fake families, or anything remotely related — Roger hates, hates, hates it when people put on faces for other people. "Smiling for the camera" pisses him off. While he doesn't like people flaunting their dirty laundry for everyone else to see, he also hates the idea of slapping an "A-OK" sticker over the cracks in something and calling it perfect.
• Drama and "games". If someone's pissed off or there's a problem, Roger wants to duke it out and get to the bottom of it. Even if it's ugly, loud, and spilled beers in a bar. Nothing turns him away from someone more than an inability to address something directly or to be upfront and honest. He refuses to play little games and can get extremely pissed off if someone decides to put him through a ridiculous "test" of some sorts rather than just talking to him. What's the goddamn point?
• Moochers. Get a job. Down on your luck? Roger will let you crash on his couch, sure. But if you're not trying to get a job everywhere you can, and are just dirtying up his place and eating his food all while with your thumb up your ass, he's going to get mean. (Cue Britney Spears' "Work It")
• Punks. While Roger used to be the absolute worst of punks, nowadays he wouldn't be able to stand idle and watch some hooligans wreck the corner-store, trash the park, or poke themselves full of drugs. If he were to meet his younger self on the street, he'd grab himself by the ear and smack some sense into the brat.
• Wine. While Roger is always down for a drink, he'd rather stay sober than sip some red or white. Get this man a beer.
STRENGTHS:• Simple - Roger is not a complicated guy. His needs are minimalistic, it doesn't take much to sate his contentment, and it isn't an easy thing to throw him out of sorts or ruin his day. He doesn't make a big deal out of things, he's capable of taking the blows as they come, and he's basically just a steady, firmly-rooted man who exists with little dependability — emotional or otherwise — on anyone else's whims.
• Respectful - Though he can certainly come across as a bit gruff and uncouth, Roger is nonetheless a courteous guy. Sure, he might call you a dumbass, but only after hearing you out and giving your opinion its due consideration. He doesn't always display them well, but he has manners (and won't hesitate to smack some kid upside the head when they act without).
• Honest/Direct - Roger isn't going to play games or dance around any problems when they crop up. If there's an issue, he's gonna get straight to the heart of it, even if that means getting loud, spilling beers at the bar, or even exchanging blows. He's upfront and honest with how he's feeling, whether it be good or bad. He likes you? He's not going to be shy about it. You're really pissing him off? He'll detail exactly why he thinks you're such an insufferable prick and why he'd like you to shove off away from him. Why complicate things and put on a happy face just to keep you around? Why would he not say anything, and just let things stagnate or steer themselves in the wrong direction? If he's anything, Roger is genuine in what he says.
• Decisive/Confident - Roger has never needed someone to tell him what to do. He's always been a self-assured guy with his own direction and will, not reliant on constant instruction or guidance. If he's taken it upon himself to do something, he has confidence in himself and his abilities to do it well. Otherwise, he would have left it to someone else. This wasn't always such a good thing in his angsty, punk rebellion youth though, as he thought he knew best and would do whatever he wanted with a decided abandon of care for anyone else's opinion on the matter, but he's... grown up a bit.
• Hardworking - Despite his appearance and typical disposition, Roger is a disciplined and diligent individual. He does what needs to be done, be it drudgery, routine, or taxing.
WEAKNESSES:• Cranky - Roger isn't necessarily an angry guy, but he does have the personality of someone who just rolled out of bed ten minutes ago and hasn't yet had his morning coffee. His default disposition is gruff. In the best of moods — even when rosy-cheeked and chuckling at the bar — Roger has a way of coming across as just a tad touchy and irritable even when it's not necessarily true.
• Apathetic - Roger does care about people, don't read this wrong. But he's not exactly a guy who is going to go absolutely ballistic over someone's good news. He can be a bit stingy when it comes to showing excitement and enthusiasm for other people, and it can seem like little rouses Roger interest/concern in general. But he can be an encouraging and involved character... if someone persists enough. And he does care, truly. He just has a talent for coming across as a bit disinterested in general.
• "Lazy" - Roger is a hardworking guy, but you would hardly presume so from his appearance and many of his actions. Despite being a surprisingly-conscientious and diligent man, he has habits and mannerisms that paint him contrarily. He stays up well into the AM drinking, he sleeps in often, and the lack of effort he puts into his appearance and disposition means he looks like he rolled out of bed ten minutes ago... literally all the time. Roger just looks and seems like a bum, so it's common that he's mistaken for a loafer.
• Insensitive - Perhaps due to his own, firm emotional independence, Roger isn't the most emotionally-perceptive individual. Because he has always been self-reliant in his own mental and emotional upkeep, he doesn't always understand what someone might need from him in a fragile moment. He simply isn't the best person to handle delicate situations, as walking on eggshells is a bit beyond him. He can be soft-spoken and understanding, but at the very best, he's still a bit hard and awkward. He's the kind of guy whose crowning moment of consolation is a botched pep-talk and a pat on the back.
• Blunt - Relating to his slight insensitivity, Roger is known to be a bit too brash/hard when it comes to expressing his views and thoughts. He says what he thinks, not necessarily considering that he should soften some harsher truths or simply keep the more grim, pessimistic thoughts to himself.
OVERALL PERSONALITY: A huge punk — like a hardcore, stereotypical poster-child of 80s anarchist fashion — turned grumpy rancher, reliant on coffee and whisky. A bit messy, perpetually exhausted (be it from working or drinking), looks to be some sort of eternal grump, but really not a bad guy. Likes people, loves animals, and can be really generous, though one would likely be surprised given his disposition. Bar frequent.
BACKGROUND
HOMETOWN: Visalia, CA
FAMILY: Miranda Castleberry, (Mother/55); Thomas McCready (Father/58); Hannah Castleberry (Sister/28), Simon Castleberry (Brother/25); Hattie & Ernest McCready (Grandparents/Deceased)
PETS: Twyla, an old black lab; Zira and Cornelius, two sibling cattledogs; Ophelia, Ursula, and Ginny, three horses that surrendered to Hattie's Haven on the verge of death from neglect and abuse, now fully recovered and even a little spoiled (offered as therapy horses, too)
HISTORY:
Roger was the first child born to what would eventually become a three-child family, followed by one younger sister and one younger brother; all of them born with three and a half years between them. Their parents were strict, highly-regarded political figures, firmly-rooted in the public eye, and it was always important to the wealthy couple to be presentable, respectable, and regarded as successful, fulfilled people with a loving, warm family and an ideal life. Societal role models and an envious image of what a family should be like. Which wasn't exactly the case. Things were not necessarily harmonious at home, and the McCready/Castleberry children were often left wanting in terms of their parents' genuine affection; more often than not, used as simple tokens before the public, as bargaining chips between the frequently-quarreling mother and father, and left predominately in the care of sitters and nannies.
Roger did well in school and was a happy little kid who loved his parents (despite their absence) and loved his siblings. But as he grew into a broody adolescent and grew more aware and conscious of the superficial lifestyle he was steeped in, he grew a bit bitter and rebellious. As he got older, he became disdainful toward his parents, their expectations, and their mechanical, fake lifestyle; he began to hate how they dressed him up, the things they pushed on him and his siblings, and how they fought constantly and then played "perfect Mr. and Mrs." before neighbors and friends. To Roger, it began to feel like he, Simon, and Hannah were just little trophies to be toted around and showed off — sent to ballet practice, signed up for piano lessons, and prepped for law school, just for the simple fact that their accomplishments would be owed to their parents.
And so Roger became a little shit, taking every opportunity he could to serve a nice, cold "fuck you" to his parents. Eventually, after getting in trouble for the nth time, he left home and moved away to live with his paternal grandparents on their ranch. For the next handful of years, he woke up before dawn to take care of the animals and farm, went to school, and then picked up a dinky grocery-store job in the evening. He was a busy, busy guy, and as his grandparents grew older and more frail, even more responsibilities around the ranch fell upon his own shoulders — until he burned himself out and dropped out of high school his senior year to keep up with things. His grandparents were upset, and his parents furious, but Roger didn't give much of a shit and was hardly bothered by the decision.
When his grandparents died — passed peacefully within a month of one another — he legally inherited their ranch (which he'd been operating by himself for years already). He spent the rest of his life, until now, taking diligent and loving care of the place. He plays hockey at the community club, wastes tons of money at the bar at nights and through the AM, and then spends most of his remaining time maintaining his little haven with a cigarette between his lips and a cup of coffee in his hands.
THE PLAYER
NAME: Rinse
AGE: 26
TIMEZONE: Central